Naughty Dog on The Last of Us’ Graphics Engine Improvements

Following the release of the first trailer of The Last of Us since its VGA reveal, Naughty Dog has explained the considerable improvements being made to the game’s graphics engine.

Speaking on the latest episode of the PlayStation Blogcast, creative director Neil Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley delved into what specific improvements are being made regarding the PlayStation 3 exclusive’s visuals.

Firstly, they said the gameplay demo recently showcased to the press was an old build stemming from January. The newer build sees Naughty Dog “pushing a lot more environments”. Uncharted‘s lighting engine, meanwhile, has advanced in The Last of Us with the developers taking an ambient approach—this is due to the title’s environments featuring a complete lack of electricity.

The pair went on to stress that in order to pit players into the shoes of lead characters, Ellie and Joel, they’ll be putting a particular emphasis on the textures, rendering style, lighting engine and art direction.